[gurps] Waterworld Express

[Onno Meyer]

David replied to me:
> > 3 MW would allow 6 tons of vectored thrust. Subtract 2 tons
> > of safety margin and 2.2 tons for the engines, and there are
> > 1.8 tons for airframe and payload. That makes the equivalent
> > of an observation helicopter, not a cargo carrier, which was
> > another unspoken assumption.
> 
> or a really fast "car"?

I used a 4 MW reactor for a "flying van" with four seats 
and 0.6 tons of cargo. Coming next week.

Rotary wings are another option. Helicopters have 2.5 to 
3 times the lift per KW, but the top speed is limited to 
300 mph, half that of ducted fans. 

So high-speed catamarans, helicopters, flarecraft, and 
ducted fan flyers would all produce roughly the same 
passenger-miles or ton-miles per day per $ of sticker 
price. You pay for higher speed with lower payload.